Last week we were invited down to check out Buffalo Trace’s Mad Men themed pop up store in the heart of Covent Garden.
Its all part of the London Cocktail Week and to celebrate Buffalo Trace’s Bourbon Empire is drawing the spirit of 1960s Americana.
From Friday 4th to Saturday 12th October, and back again Tuesday 15th to Saturday 19th October The 2 floored bar will offer Amazing cocktails, 1960s décor and a soundtrack that will make you think you are living the Don Draper Mad Men lifestyle (minus the sexism)
When we arrived we were greeted with a smile and welcomed with open arms as we were invited to take a seat while we decided what cocktail to go with first.
To kick things off we opted for a bourbon Sour, Mixed up with Lemon juice, sugar, Peychauds Bitters ,Egg white and of course Buffalo Trace.
The cocktails should have clearly been marked as ‘dangerous’ due to the amazing flavour. You could even be forgiven for thinking the drink was non-alcoholic.
From the Bourbon Sour we decided it was time to go Full Don Draper and try out the Old Fashioned. A simple concoction of Brown Sugar, Peychauds Bitters and Buffalo Trace, which we are told is a Mad Men Classic.
As the evening flowed we decided to take in the décor. 1960’s memorabilia decorated the bar from posters, books, and even Vinyl’s draped over the toilet wall, offering you something to read while you powder your nose.
As well as the Whiskey inspired quotes on the wall, one item that took our eye was a book about Frank Sinatra, which we were told was sourced from the Internet as well as everything else in the bar, giving a sense of authentic 1960s.
Back to the bar and we were introduced to a Pickle Back. No it’s not a Vegetable version of the rock band NickleBack, but a simple shot of Buffalo Trace with a shot of Pickle Juice.
At first glance the thought of a glass of Pickle Juice is enough for anyone to call it a night but the drink worked! The method: well its simple, shot the Buffalo Trace, then shoot the Pickle Juice.
What we found was that the pickle juice acted as a complete neutraliser which would cleanse the palate, leaving no trace of the Bourbon you had just drank. (Would not recommend doing more than 2 of these)
As the cocktails continued we caught up with the guys from Buffalo Trace who educated us on the different variants and we were even privileged to try George T Stagg with the boss, Jeremy Hill who is the chairman of Hi-Spirits.
As Jeremy free poured from the £115 bottle, he gave us some background to the Bourbon and as we sipped on George T Stagg, we discussed Bourbon, alcohol and anything else gentlemen discuss over drink.
If you ever meet Jeremy ask him to show you a picture of his alcohol collection (WARNING: you will be jealous)
The Hi-Spirits family were all there and welcomed us with open arms as family. They were even kind to move us downstairs to the Mad Men lounge area which enabled us to channel our Inner Don Draper.
If you have the time and love cocktails, we would strongly suggest you check out the Buffalo Trace Bourbon Empire, but hurry as you only have until 19th October.
